Off-Duty Firefighter And Bystander Pull Driver From Burning Car

HARWICH, MA — An off-duty firefighter and a bystander saved a driver who was trapped in a burning car after a crash on Route 6 near the rest area east of Ext 10 Friday night.

"There is no doubt in my mind that if it hadn’t been for the efforts of Firefighter Ford and the bystander, the outcome from last night accident would have been much worse," Harwich Chief David LeBlanc said.

Around 8 p.m. someone called to report a car had rolled over and on fire in the wooded area on the side of the road. Moments later, someone else called to report the driver was trapped in the car.

The Harwich and Brewster fire departments, Massachusetts State Police and the Harwich Police, raced to the crash, but an off duty firefighter Josh Ford and a bystander who was driving the other direction and saw the crash happened to get there first and wanted to help.

When they noticed the car’s gas tank had ruptured and fuel was leaking under the car feeding the flames, the two grabbed a tire iron from the trunk, broke out the rear passenger window and managed to help the driver out of the car and back to the rest area, according to fire officials.

"As a department we are all very proud of Firefighter Ford for his actions," LeBlanc said. "It is one thing to act this way while on duty, with your fellow firefighters and in full gear. But it is quite another thing to act this way while driving down the road with your family. "

The driver was sent to the hospital, but is expected to be OK, fire officials said.

"Josh’s actions represent a mindset of putting the citizens before himself, and a mindset as a Fire Chief I believe is the core mission of the Fire department," LeBlanc said.

Harwich Fire and Brewster Fire put out the car fire, and Route 6 Eastbound was reopened at exit 10 after about an hour.